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1 Introduction
Several decades of scrutiny of the Colombian judicial system supports the paradigm of restorative justice. A pure retributive focus on perpetrators and on penalties for crimes committed by them during the armed conflict posed obstacles for the prosecution of those responsible for serious violations of human rights. It also prevented the recognition of the rights of victims and left them in a constant condition of oblivion. Finally, it ignored the damage caused to society and its repair.1x According to the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Social Cohesion and Non-Repetition, impunity is a Historical, generalized and permanent justice deficit regarding the violations produced against millions of victims in the Colombian armed conflict (Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición, 2022). Overall, the unsuccessful reactive response via lawsuits and complaints does not lead to solidarity commitments and carries the risk that victims’ suffering is neither understood nor addressed.
Hence, different approaches to context-related crimes have become pertinent. Accordingly, the promotion of horizontal scenarios of dialogue have gained momentum (Cote, 2020). They contribute more directly to the reparation of harm inflicted on the victims of the respective crimes as well as to the transformation of the offenders. However, they also imply active participation which must necessarily extend to all stakeholders, including society as a whole, which is impacted by damages to the overall social fabric, as well as those who, directly or indirectly, contributed to the causal factors for the harm or allowed conflict-related crimes to happen.
The Comprehensive System for Justice, Truth, Reparations and Non-Repetition (referred to in the following text as Comprehensive System) was created after the signing of the Final Agreement (in 2016) for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace (FPA) and has a restorative paradigm that is unprecedented in transitional justice systems (Special Jurisdiction for Peace, 2019). It considers the reconstruction of social, community and individual ties as a relevant factor for the consolidation of peace in Colombia. Different institutions, such as the Office of the Inspector General, of which the author is a member,2x It is important to clarify, however, that the opinions expressed here are my own, and do not represent the position of the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia. are asked to play a transformative role, guaranteeing the rights of victims of the armed conflict, but also those of the comparecientes3x According to the rules applicable to SJP, there are two types of offenders who may enter the jurisdiction. First, there are the victimisers whose participation is mandatory, composed of members of the guerrillas who signed the Final Agreement and State agents who are members of the security forces such as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police. Secondly, there are the perpetrators who participate voluntarily with the SJP, who may be third-party civilian and members of other groups such as paramilitaries who make extraordinary contributions to the truth. in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP) process.4x According to the Constitutional Court, the role of a special delegate division of the Office of the Inspector General Inspectorate of the SJP is to guarantee the rights of the victims, the participants as well as the representation of society and the guarantee of the legal order as part of the system of checks and balances inherent in the social rule of law. The special delegate division is responsible for intervening in the proceedings of the SJP as well as for submitting legal opinions before the SJP. (Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Plena, Sentencia C-674 de 2017). See www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2017/C-674-17.htm (last accessed 26 May 2023).
The Colombian restorative transitional justice system is based on the centrality of the victim, the transformation of causal factors for the harm, the reparation of victims, and the pertinent commitment of the perpetrator to the reparatory obligation, as well as the greatest possible institutional investment in an interactive dialogical process, which is implemented through the SJP. -
2 The Colombian legal framework for victim reparations: a restorative approach
In ordinary legal proceedings in Colombia, victims do not only receive a compensatory response as a result of the following legal frameworks, but they are also entitled, in most cases, to participate in restorative programmes or activities. Nonetheless, this participatory restorative approach is often secondary to the economic restorative-compensatory perspective (Uprimny & Saffon, n.d.). Examples of relevant legislation are the following:5x For more information, see the contribution by Greve and Vega in this Notes from the Field.
Law 228 of 1996 establishing mechanisms for reparation to victims of the conflict, which is ordered by a judgment handed down by an International Court (for example, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights); it allows for restorative actions to be taken, depending on the content of the court order.6x Colombian Council of State. Decision 27 January 2007.
Law 975 of 2005, called the Justice and Peace Law, introducing the transitional justice system which sought to end the conflict after negotiations between the Colombian government and paramilitary groups. In terms of restorative actions, direct participation of the victims in the judicial proceedings was sought through the Attorney General’s Office. Restorative mechanisms were adopted as reparation measures for victims with the participation of perpetrators and victims (Lefkaditis & Ordónez, 2014).
Law 1448 of 2011, and its Regulatory Decrees for ethnic populations is the most complex and comprehensive system of attention and reparation to victims. It establishes a system of attention and comprehensive reparation to victims, through a commitment that seeks to address the five components of reparation, that is, compensation (economic), satisfaction, rehabilitation, restitution and non-repetition, through a system of administrative reparations, as well as symbolic measures, memory and truth (Rivera, Osuna & Culver, 2015). The system of Law 1448 seeks to address all victims of the conflict, with a few exceptions.7x It should also be noted that Law 1448 of 2011 created the National System of Attention and Integral Reparation for Victims (SNARIV), as a mechanism of the State for the individual and collective reparation of victims in all its dimensions. Different government agencies participate in the SNARIV, which operates at the territorial level through the municipal and departmental victims’ roundtables; the latter are composed of representatives of the victims in each territory. Finally, the creation of a judicial land restitution system was considered to meet the justice demands of displaced persons or those dispossessed of their land or property. In terms of restorative justice, Law 1448 provides for extra-procedural measures aimed at restoration (Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, 2018).
For many years, the approach to violence caused by the conflict had focused on compensatory actions. The context in which the restorative commitment in Colombia is developing has been reflected in the current framework of transitional justice, and particularly, the implementation of the judicial component of the SJP.8x Gobierno de la República de Colombia y FARC-EP. Acuerdo Final para la Terminación del Conflicto y la Construcción de una Paz Estable y Duradera. Punto No. 5 Acuerdo sobre las Víctimas del Conflicto: ‘Sistema Integral de Verdad, Justicia, Reparación y No Repetición’, Numeral. 5.1.2. Justicia (24 November 2016). See https://bapp.com.co/en/final-agreement-to-end-the-armed-conflict-and-build-a-stable-and-lasting-peace/ (last accessed 27 May 2023). The restorative paradigm adopted in this justice system was clarified through the Constitutional Amendment (or Legislative Act) No. 1 of 2017:9x In Colombia, all constitutional amendments are defined as ‘Actos Legislativos’ or ‘Legislative Acts’. Thus, the constitutional reforms regarding the adoption of the Peace Agreement signed between the FARC guerrillas and the Colombian government were adopted as constitutional transitory dispositions as part of a transitional justice framework.
[…] the restoration of the damage caused and the reparation of the victims affected by the conflict, especially to end the situation of social exclusion that the victimisation has caused them. Restorative justice primarily addresses the needs and dignity of the victims and is applied with a comprehensive approach that guarantees justice, truth and non-repetition of what happened.10x Congreso de la República de Colombia. Acto Legislativo No. 01 de 4 de abril de 2017.D.O. 50.196, artículo constitucional transitorio No. 1. See www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=80615 (last accessed 27 May 2023).
This guiding paradigm of restorative justice, in accordance with the aforementioned norms, permeates all judicial and extrajudicial practices, so that victims and offenders can rebuild the relationships affected by the practices of the armed conflict. At the same time, comprehensive responsibilities must be generated that allow the country to rebuild the social fabric, to facilitate access to the truth and to support the adoption of a collective conscience aimed at non-repetition of the serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that have occurred in the context of the armed conflict (Acosta & Espitia, 2020). In this regard, the Constitutional Court stated regarding the Comprehensive System:
Restorative justice does not refer exclusively to the field of criminal sanctions. Although part of its questioning, this model proposes different fields of application…, which include participation mechanisms for victims and affected communities, the introduction of methodologies that can have an important psychosocial component, recognising traditional conflict resolution approaches in the cultures in which it develops, among others.11x Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Plena, Sentencia C-080 de 2018.
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3 A restorative approach in the context of ‘macro-cases’
In this section, the author will discuss the processes related to two so-called macro-cases12x For the explanation of ‘macro-cases’, see the contribution by Greve and Vega in this Notes from the Field. which began in July 2018.
The reflections presented here arise from the functions as Delegate Inspector General for the SJP. The delegates participate in all SJP processes with the role of special intervener in the process. Thereby, the Inspector General Office’s delegates serve to guarantee the rights of victims of the armed conflict in Colombia and of Colombian society, as well as to preserve the legal order and to represent nonparticipant victims.13x Nonparticipant victims are those who have not entered the system but whose rights and cases are relevant to the investigation. The privileged position of the Delegate for the SJP contributes to the functioning of this transitional justice system and, particularly, to the restorative scenarios that arise from it.14x For more information on the intervention of the Office of the Deputy Procurator to the SJP, see Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Plena, Sentencia C-674 de 2017.
The Delegate Inspector General for the SJP participates in the process of defining sanctions and restorative and retributive measures, guaranteeing the rights of victims and society. This role demands direct interactions with victims, participants and judges, allowing for feedback on the progress of the judicial process, and also on the restorative process. Apart from the aim to generate relevant impacts on the judicial process, the Delegate also provides support to the victims by clarifying doubts with respect to legal aspects and to the scope of the restorative measures proposed by the SJP.
In the following pages, some relevant experiences related to the most advanced macro-cases of the Colombian restorative transitional justice will be outlined from the perspective of the Delegate Inspector General for the SJP.3.1 Macro-case 01 (Taking of hostages, serious deprivation of liberty and other concurrent crimes committed by the FARC-EP)15x República de Colombia Jurisdicción Especial Para la Paz. Caso No. 01. Toma de rehenes y graves privaciones de la libertad cometidas por las FARC-EP (See www.jep.gov.co/Sala-de-Prensa/Documents/CASO%2001%20TOMA%20DE%20REHENES/Auto%20No.%2019%20de%202021.pdf?csf=1&e=16bYs0 (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
The SJP has advanced procedurally within the framework of macro-case 01 and the respective comparecientes, mainly from the former Secretariat of the FARC-EP, who have been in charge of having the main responsibility in de conduct of the deprivation of liberty and hostage taking during the armed conflict, as part of a systematic policy of the guerrilla in all the Colombian territory.16x Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, Salas de Justicia, Sala de Reconocimiento de Verdad, de Responsabilidad y de Determinación de los Hechos y Conductas. Auto No. 019 de 19 de enero de 2021.
According to a ‘conditionality regime’ that demands victim satisfaction regarding restorative projects and programmes, a roadmap for TOAR17x For more information, see the contribution by Greve and Vega in this Notes from the Field. was designed by former members of the FARC-EP with the technical and logistical support of the Bogotá D.C. mayor’s office. Mainly in the suburbs of the Colombian capital Bogotá D.C., notably in the towns of Usme and Sumapaz, a dynamic initiative of acknowledgement and dealing with the past was generated among the various actors, seeking to restore the territory and especially the environment which was affected by the conflict in the Páramo region.18x See Pantoja and Feliciano (2022), and https://victimasbogota.gov.co/node/2490 (last accessed 27 May 2023). The respective actions, which were developed by former members of the FARC-EP, were carried out with the participation of victims living in the Páramo area, as well as the communities.19x It should be noted that the former Secretariat of the FARC-EP proposed environmental restoration actions as part of the restorative activities to be imposed in the context of the Special Sanctions (sanciones propias). The process also included consultation mechanisms with victims and technical support from Bogotá’s authorities. As the High Advisor for Peace, Victims and Reparation for Bogotá, Vladimir Rodríguez, stated,
Bogotá has been building this route for two years and now, we have the first four projects as a model to present in the capital, always with the support and guidance of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, and other territorial entities that have also assumed the commitment of the Peace Agreement as a constitutional mandate.20x Obtained from Capital TV. El Distrito y la JEP lanzan ‘TOAR’, un proyectio de justicia restaurativa en Bogotá (2022) (https://conexioncapital.co/el-distrito-y-la-jep-lanzaron-toar-un-proyecto-de-justicia-restaurativa-en-bogota/ (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
The approach has been of utmost importance, as it was the first that received significant support, from a technical point of view, from the State authorities and a related political framework.
As stated, as special intervener the Delegate Inspector General for the SJP participated in the presentation of observations of the projects carried out by the FARC-EP, in compliance with the obligations to restore and repair the victims. Thereby the Delegate sought to ensure that the measures presented had a broad reach, including to the community members or family members affected by kidnapping, at least symbolically.
This led to the proposal for the creation of ‘memorial parks’ in certain municipalities of the country. While this was not approved by the Chamber for the Acknowledgment of Truth, Responsibility and Determination of Facts and Conduct, the creation of spaces to discuss the positions of the victims and comparecientes led to the presentation of observations and recommendations for measures to the Tribunal for Peace.3.2 Macro-case 03 (Killings and forced disappearances presented as combat casualties by State agents)
3.2.1 North Santander sub-case21x República de Colombia Jurisdicción Especial Para La Paz. Caso No. 03. Asesinatos y desapariciones forzadas presentados como bajas en combate por agentes del Estado – Subcaso Norte de Santander. Auto No. 125 de 2021 y Auto No. 266 de 2022 (See https://jurinfo.jep.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/auto_srvr-125_02-julio-2021.htm (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
With respect to macro-case 03 and its regional sub-case Norte de Santander, significant procedural progress has been made. This entails judicial charges, acknowledgements of responsibility and the activation of the restorative route. Specific restorative actions that were applied during the process are highlighted in the following text.
The first, and perhaps the most relevant, was the development of restorative justice spaces between the victims of extrajudicial executions presented as combat casualties and former members of the Colombian armed forces. During these processes, State agents were made aware of the affectations generated towards the victims, as well as the demands for truth and reparation. Furthermore, the impacts of the crimes committed on the territory, the sub-region of Catatumbo and Bogotá region, were brought to the attention of society, and victims were given the opportunity to participate during the public hearings.
It is important to note that these restorative justice spaces were always facilitated by the teams of the SJP, with the accompaniment of other actors such as the Office of the Inspector General and international verification organisations. The Delegate Inspector General for the SJP aimed to ensure that the restorative spaces were appropriate and did not generate harm to victims, participants and society.
A second restorative justice action was the public acknowledgement of responsibility during the judicial hearing held in the city of Ocaña, Catatumbo sub-region, on 26 and 27 April 2022. In this hearing, the comparecientes told Colombian society details of the crimes committed about what happened and what might have been the impact of their conduct. Accordingly, they faced public social judgment.
The memories and symbols that emerged from this macro-case present a third restorative action: They are placed in museums, parks and classrooms and are therefore a restorative reply to the main calls of the victims for ensuring that the persons killed by State agents were not stigmatised as guerrillas or criminals. They also generate collective awareness of the phenomenon of extrajudicial executions presented as combat casualties in Colombia, the responsibilities of the State, and contribute to non-repetition.
The Delegate Inspector General for the SJP participated in this process aimed at acknowledgement of responsibility of those involved in the crime, the restoration of dignity of the concerned geographic areas, and restorative proposals that can be accepted by the victims.
The relevance of these actions lies in the direct interaction between victims and perpetrators and the acknowledgement of the harm inflicted. A noteworthy restorative case in this regard is that of Eduvina Becerra, a woman from the Catatumbo region whose husband had been killed by the national armed forces. In the SJP process, she interacted with the soldiers involved, forgave them and discussed the effects of the loss of her husband.3.2.2 Caribbean Coast sub-case22x República de Colombia Jurisdicción Especial Para La Paz. Caso No. 03. Asesinatos y desapariciones forzadas presentados como bajas en combate por agentes del Estado – Subcaso Norte de Santander. Auto No. 128 de 2021 (See https://jurinfo.jep.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/auto_srvr-128_07-julio-2021.htm) (last accessed 30 May 2023)).
The Costa Caribe sub-case has allowed society to learn about the dynamics of extrajudicial executions carried out by members of the national army forces in association with civilians, in the region of the Caribbean Coast, and particularly in the department of César.
The differential point of this case is the relationship of victims from ethnic groups such as the Indigenous Wiwa and Kankuamo communities. Accordingly, a differential, territorial and ethnic approach has been favoured throughout the process. Facilitated dialogue was applied in private meetings between the aggressors and the victims of the Indigenous communities, as well as in consultations regarding possible reparative actions. A special element in this context was the inclusion of interpreters for the indigenous languages and indigenous rituals as a part of the dialogue facilitation. The ethnic dimensions of such intercultural dialogues exposed how the assassinations and extrajudicial executions not only generated individual but also collective harm. Accordingly, community restoration dynamics were accomplished through sanction rituals with a collective dimension.3.2.3 Dabeiba sub-case
This case differs from the others, as several of the victims were soldiers who were killed by their comrades to prevent the extrajudicial executions from becoming known. This generated severe distrust in the public institutions, especially the national armed forces.
The SJP considered these damages, as well as the characteristics of the affected region, and has allowed the exchange of written and filmed messages that describe, on the part of the aggressors, recognition and repentance, and on the part of the victims, the need to know the truth and above all to end the search for those who had disappeared.23x Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz. Comunicado No. 083 de 2022. See https://www.jep.gov.co/Sala-de-Prensa/Paginas/Dabeiba-ocho-comparecientes-JEP-reconocen-falsos-positivos.aspx (last accessed 27 May 2023)). -
4 Restorative dynamics outside the formal SJP process
4.1 Spaces for the construction of the truth: Soacha and extrajudicial executions
A restorative justice space in the town of Soacha, Cundinamarca is an important example of an extrajudicial scenario in which victims and former members of the national armed forces underwent a process of truth and reconciliation.
In 2008, people began to notice cases of forced disappearance of young people from Soacha and other areas in the south of Bogotá. The young men had left their homes, lured by false promises of work, and never returned: they were presented as guerrillas killed in combat with the national armed forces in Ocaña, Norte de Santander, and buried in mass graves. Faced with the magnitude of their loss and the high risk of impunity, some of the mothers and sisters of the victims decided to organise so that their voices, now collective, would be heard: the organisation MAFAPO (Madres de Falsos Positivos) was born. Initially, MAFAPO’s objectives were to seek the truth and to dignify the names of the loved ones they had lost, since official narratives presented them wrongly as guerrilleros. In the following text, MAFAPO also received complaints and petitions from other victims in other Colombian cities and began to raise their voices, not only for the young people of Soacha, but for all those who had suffered from the conflict (Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, 2019).
Today such initiatives, complementary to the work carried out by the SJP, allow for better knowledge of the crimes committed, and seek to de-stigmatise the area as a place of violence and conflict.4.2 FUNCOES and the victims of the public force
Likewise, relatives and victims of members of the national armed forces who were assassinated by guerrilla groups have created restorative memory spaces.
Fundación Colores de Esperanza por Nuestros Héroes (FUNCOES) is an organisation led by mothers, sisters and daughters of former low-ranking soldiers who became victims of violence in the armed conflict.24x Fundación color y esperanza que representa a víctimas de la Fuerza Pública (See https://centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/para-las-madres-de-color-y-esperanza-por-nuestros-heroes-no-existe-el-olvido/ (last accessed 27 May 2023)). FUNCOES seeks to raise awareness about the harm caused by landmines or kidnappings of members of the national armed forces and their families, often from the low-income segment of the population. They created spaces for dialogue and recognition with former members of the FARC-EP as well as processes of forgiveness and reconciliation (Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, 2021). Thereby, family members of guerrilleros and soldiers were able to find commonalities, such as the general suffering of economic shortcomings, and stories about why their relatives – in most cases, involuntarily – joined armed forces in the hope for a better future.
The dialogue spaces have been generated as a direct initiative of the victims and the comparecientes. Notably the efforts by the FUNCOES foundation had an important impact on truth and reconciliation in certain regions in Antioquia and Cundinamarca. -
5 Preliminary conclusion
Although the current transitional justice process is still in an initial stage, the term ‘restorative’ has become so popular that sometimes it is automatically linked to any judicial or extrajudicial practice that occurs within the SJP process. There have been real advances in line with the reparative vocation: day by day and little by little, the transformative effect of meetings between victims, perpetrators and representatives of society and the impacted communities is becoming visible.
The restorative paradigm proposed by the SJP is undoubtedly a novel contribution to the transitional bets for the future. In the best of scenarios, and in case of success, it would not be out of place to consider this restorative proposal as an important reference in future transitional justice contexts. While this chapter is only a beginning, it is gaining credibility, even among the most sceptical within the Colombian society. Nevertheless, huge challenges lie ahead, notably changing the ordinary model of retributive justice which, for so many years, the author has seen it fail.
The Colombian model gives the Delegate Inspector General for the SJP an enormous task: the Delegate’s role will be fundamental for harmonising the different interests between the parties regarding truth and justice and a process with a limited time frame. References Acosta, J. & Espitia, C. (2020). Justicia restaurativa y reparación: desafíos de la JEP frente a una relación en construcción. Vniversitas, 69, 1-31. doi: 10.11144/Javeriana.vj69.jrrd.
Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica (2018). Mecanismo no Judicial de Contribución a la verdad y la Memoria Histórica: Balance sobre la contribución del CNMH al esclarecimiento histórico. Informe. Bogotá: Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica.
Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica (2019). MAFAPO, un colectivo por la verdad y la no repetición. Bogotá: Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica. Retrieved from http://experiencias.centromemoria.gov.co/mafapo/ (last accessed 17 March 2023).
Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica (2021). Para las madres de Color y Esperanza por Nuestros Héroes, no existe el olvido. Bogotá: Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica. Retrieved from https://centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/para-las-madres-de-color-y-esperanza-por-nuestros-heroes-no-existe-el-olvido/ (last accessed 17 March 2023).
Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición (2022). Capítulo de Hallazgos. La impunidad como factor de persistencia del conflicto armado. In Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición (ed.), Informe Final: ‘Hay Futuro si Hay Verdad’, Hallazgos y Recomendaciones de la Comisión de la Verdad de Colombia (pp. 435-481). Bogotá: Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición. Retrieved from www.comisiondelaverdad.co/hay-futuro-si-hay-verdad (last accessed 26 May 2023).
Cote, G. (2020). El carácter dialógico del proceso con reconocimiento de responsabilidad ante la Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz: retos del derecho penal en contextos de justicia transicional. Vniversitas, 69, 1-30.
Lefkaditis, P. & Ordónez, G. (2014). El Derecho a la reparación integral en Justicia y Paz: El caso de Mampuján, Las Brisas y Veredas de San Cayetano. Revista Internacional de Cooperación y Desarrollo, 1(2), 269-272.
Pantoja, J. & Feliciano, M.P. (2022). La Ruta TOAR: Diseño de una arquitectura institucional para la justicia restaurativa en la justicia transicional. Rev. Doctrina Distritral, 2(3), 9-27. Retrieved from https://doctrinadistrital.com/ojs2/index.php/RevistaDoctrinaDistrital/article/view/72 (last accessed 27 May 2023).
Rivera, A.M., Osuna, F. & Culver, K. (2015). Evaluation of integral reparations measures in Colombia. Executive summary. Cambridge: Harvard University. Retrieved from https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00KSXQ.pdf (last accessed 27 May 2023).
Special Jurisdiction for Peace (2019). Comprehensive system of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition. Retrieved from https://www.jep.gov.co/SiteAssets/Paginas/JEP/Sistema-Integral-de-Verdad-Justicia-Reparacion-y-NoRepeticion/SIVJRNR_EN%20.pdf (last accessed 26 May 2023).
Uprimny, R. & Saffon, M.P. (n.d.). Transitional justice, restorative justice and reconciliation: some insights from the Colombian case. Retrieved from www.dejusticia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/fi_name_recurso_55.pdf (last accessed 26 May 2023).
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1 According to the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Social Cohesion and Non-Repetition, impunity is a Historical, generalized and permanent justice deficit regarding the violations produced against millions of victims in the Colombian armed conflict (Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición, 2022).
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2 It is important to clarify, however, that the opinions expressed here are my own, and do not represent the position of the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia.
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3 According to the rules applicable to SJP, there are two types of offenders who may enter the jurisdiction. First, there are the victimisers whose participation is mandatory, composed of members of the guerrillas who signed the Final Agreement and State agents who are members of the security forces such as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police. Secondly, there are the perpetrators who participate voluntarily with the SJP, who may be third-party civilian and members of other groups such as paramilitaries who make extraordinary contributions to the truth.
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4 According to the Constitutional Court, the role of a special delegate division of the Office of the Inspector General Inspectorate of the SJP is to guarantee the rights of the victims, the participants as well as the representation of society and the guarantee of the legal order as part of the system of checks and balances inherent in the social rule of law. The special delegate division is responsible for intervening in the proceedings of the SJP as well as for submitting legal opinions before the SJP. (Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Plena, Sentencia C-674 de 2017). See www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2017/C-674-17.htm (last accessed 26 May 2023).
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5 For more information, see the contribution by Greve and Vega in this Notes from the Field.
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6 Colombian Council of State. Decision 27 January 2007.
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7 It should also be noted that Law 1448 of 2011 created the National System of Attention and Integral Reparation for Victims (SNARIV), as a mechanism of the State for the individual and collective reparation of victims in all its dimensions. Different government agencies participate in the SNARIV, which operates at the territorial level through the municipal and departmental victims’ roundtables; the latter are composed of representatives of the victims in each territory. Finally, the creation of a judicial land restitution system was considered to meet the justice demands of displaced persons or those dispossessed of their land or property.
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8 Gobierno de la República de Colombia y FARC-EP. Acuerdo Final para la Terminación del Conflicto y la Construcción de una Paz Estable y Duradera. Punto No. 5 Acuerdo sobre las Víctimas del Conflicto: ‘Sistema Integral de Verdad, Justicia, Reparación y No Repetición’, Numeral. 5.1.2. Justicia (24 November 2016). See https://bapp.com.co/en/final-agreement-to-end-the-armed-conflict-and-build-a-stable-and-lasting-peace/ (last accessed 27 May 2023).
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9 In Colombia, all constitutional amendments are defined as ‘Actos Legislativos’ or ‘Legislative Acts’. Thus, the constitutional reforms regarding the adoption of the Peace Agreement signed between the FARC guerrillas and the Colombian government were adopted as constitutional transitory dispositions as part of a transitional justice framework.
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10 Congreso de la República de Colombia. Acto Legislativo No. 01 de 4 de abril de 2017.D.O. 50.196, artículo constitucional transitorio No. 1. See www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=80615 (last accessed 27 May 2023).
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11 Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Plena, Sentencia C-080 de 2018.
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12 For the explanation of ‘macro-cases’, see the contribution by Greve and Vega in this Notes from the Field.
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13 Nonparticipant victims are those who have not entered the system but whose rights and cases are relevant to the investigation.
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14 For more information on the intervention of the Office of the Deputy Procurator to the SJP, see Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sala Plena, Sentencia C-674 de 2017.
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15 República de Colombia Jurisdicción Especial Para la Paz. Caso No. 01. Toma de rehenes y graves privaciones de la libertad cometidas por las FARC-EP (See www.jep.gov.co/Sala-de-Prensa/Documents/CASO%2001%20TOMA%20DE%20REHENES/Auto%20No.%2019%20de%202021.pdf?csf=1&e=16bYs0 (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
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16 Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, Salas de Justicia, Sala de Reconocimiento de Verdad, de Responsabilidad y de Determinación de los Hechos y Conductas. Auto No. 019 de 19 de enero de 2021.
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17 For more information, see the contribution by Greve and Vega in this Notes from the Field.
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18 See Pantoja and Feliciano (2022), and https://victimasbogota.gov.co/node/2490 (last accessed 27 May 2023).
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19 It should be noted that the former Secretariat of the FARC-EP proposed environmental restoration actions as part of the restorative activities to be imposed in the context of the Special Sanctions (sanciones propias).
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20 Obtained from Capital TV. El Distrito y la JEP lanzan ‘TOAR’, un proyectio de justicia restaurativa en Bogotá (2022) (https://conexioncapital.co/el-distrito-y-la-jep-lanzaron-toar-un-proyecto-de-justicia-restaurativa-en-bogota/ (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
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21 República de Colombia Jurisdicción Especial Para La Paz. Caso No. 03. Asesinatos y desapariciones forzadas presentados como bajas en combate por agentes del Estado – Subcaso Norte de Santander. Auto No. 125 de 2021 y Auto No. 266 de 2022 (See https://jurinfo.jep.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/auto_srvr-125_02-julio-2021.htm (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
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22 República de Colombia Jurisdicción Especial Para La Paz. Caso No. 03. Asesinatos y desapariciones forzadas presentados como bajas en combate por agentes del Estado – Subcaso Norte de Santander. Auto No. 128 de 2021 (See https://jurinfo.jep.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/auto_srvr-128_07-julio-2021.htm) (last accessed 30 May 2023)).
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23 Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz. Comunicado No. 083 de 2022. See https://www.jep.gov.co/Sala-de-Prensa/Paginas/Dabeiba-ocho-comparecientes-JEP-reconocen-falsos-positivos.aspx (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
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24 Fundación color y esperanza que representa a víctimas de la Fuerza Pública (See https://centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/para-las-madres-de-color-y-esperanza-por-nuestros-heroes-no-existe-el-olvido/ (last accessed 27 May 2023)).
DOI: 10.5553/TIJRJ.000168
The International Journal of Restorative Justice |
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Notes from the field | Some restorative experiences within the framework of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia |
Authors | Jairo Ignacio Acosta Aristizábal |
DOI | 10.5553/TIJRJ.000168 |
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Jairo Ignacio Acosta Aristizábal, 'Some restorative experiences within the framework of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia', (2023) The International Journal of Restorative Justice 275-284
Jairo Ignacio Acosta Aristizábal, 'Some restorative experiences within the framework of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia', (2023) The International Journal of Restorative Justice 275-284